House car construction



4 sheets-511591; 1

ev-v A. J. DoYLE HOUSE GAR CONSTRUCTION THT- l1 LB .H u

Filed Aug.

Il II April 27, 1943.

April 27, 1943. l A. J. DoYLE HOUSE CAR CONSTRUCTIQN Filed Aug. e, 1'941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a o o o Liv -0 T 5 WJ. e Ww W .9

NI MN April 27, 1943. A. J. DOYLE HOUSE CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 6, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 27, 1943.

vHOUSE CAR coNsTRUcTIoN Filed Aug. s, 1941 4 sheets-sheet 4 @hum/QM j A. J. DoYLE 2,317,677

Patented Apr. 27, 1943 Unirse' srarss HOUSE CAR CONSTRUCTION Arthur J. Doyle, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland. Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 6, 1941, Serial No. 405,573

(Cl. S-409) 9 Claims.

This invention relates to house car construction. The conversion of double and single wooden sheathed house cars to metallic sheathed house cars has become well known and has been generally adopted by the railroads. These conversions utilize the serviceable metallic parts of the original wood sheathed cars and produce economical metallic sheathed cars of increased cubical capacity wherein the metallic side Walls are girders carrying a portion of the stress on the underframe intermediate the bolsters.

In the process of these conversions Where the existing "roof is re-used, it is removed from the side and end walls by iirst dismantling it and removing the separate parts. After the metallic car sides have been re-app'lied to the underframe, the car roof is again assembled and secured to the side and end walls. The labor involved in dismantling, re-assem-bling and re-applying the roof is costly and the operation is time consuming.

The instant invention has for its main object the elimination of the labor and expense involved in the removal and replacement of the car roof in the conversion ofwood sheathed house cars to metal sheathed house cars.

A further' object is to provide metallic house cars converted from wood sheathed housel cars wherein the existing roof and side plates of the Wood sheathed cars are removed as a unit and Fig. 6 is a partial elevation of a car roof and y side plate and part of a car end removed as a unit and illustrating the manner of increasing the height of the converted car. y

The instant invention is described and illustrated in connection with a single sheathed railway house car. It is noted, however, that the invention is not limited to lthis type of car but may be utilized as Well With double sheathed house cars. A singlesheathed car is illustrated in Figs. 1v and .3 of the drawings. This car has wooden sides I0 and metallic ends |I. The wooden sides are reinforced by means of door posts l2 defining vthe vertical boundaries of door openings I3 formed in the car sides and by means of intermediate vertical posts I4 and diagonal re-applied as a unit to the substituted metallic f walls of the cars which may be of increased inside width.

A further object is to provide metallic house cars converted from Wood sheathed house cars which shall utilize all or a substantial portion of the existing side plates.

A further object is to provide converted metallic house cars having metallic side walls embodying upper longitudinally extending stress carrying members of smaller section than heretofore permissible.

A further object is to provide converted metallic house cars wherein savings in materials and cost of assembly of the substitute metallic side walls of the converted cars is obtained.

A further object is to provide converted me-` tallic house cars wherein the existing roof, side plates, end plates and parts of the metallic car ends of the car being converted are removed as a unit and re-applied as a unit to the substitute braces I5. At their lower ends the posts and braces are secured as by riveting to channel shaped side sills I6. At their upper ends the posts and braces are secured by means of gusset plates |I to the outwardly extending horizontal flanges I8 of Z-shaped side plates I9. The Webs 20 of these side plates are arranged vertically and thegremaining flanges 2| extend inwardly and arehorizontal. The-Wooden sheathing l0 and the side plates I9 are secured, respectively, as indicated at 22 and 23, to the ends of the car. End plates 24 are fastened to the ends of the side plates and support the ends of the roof.

The car roof 25 chosen for purposes of' illustration is a flexible metallic roof and embodies carlines 26 secured as by means of rivets 21 to the inwardly extending anges 2| of the side4 plates. Roof sheets Z'I-a are disposed between the carlines Aand are connected at the carlines by means of cap plates 28. The roof sheets are secured at the side plates or eaves of the roof by means of metallic flashings 29 which are interlocked 'with upturned iianges 30 formed on the roof sheets.

The floor 3| is supported at its ends upon the channel shaped side sills I6 as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The instant invention permits the conversion of the illustrated single sheathed house car into a metallic house car which, if desired, may be increased in height and width so as to produce a car of greater cubical capacity. The instant invention, moreover, permits such conversion in a manner which shall effect substantial savings in labor, time and cost of conversion as Well as a corresponding savings in the cost of the side wall girders utilized in the conversion.

The converted metal sheathed house car is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings. It embodies metallic side walls preferably preformed as units and subsequently applied to the underframe of the car which is being converted. Each side wail unit comprises door posts 32 delining the door openings 33 in the car sides and aplurality of intermediate posts 34. The door posts 32 are Z-shaped in section and are arranged with their webs 35 parallel to the side wall unit and their flanges 36 and 31 extending respectively outwardly and inwardly. The intermediate posts 34 are also Z-shaped in section and are arranged so that their webs 38 lie at right angles to the car wall and their outer and inner flanges 39 and 40 parallel thereto.

The upper ends of the door posts are secured to a longitudinal load carrying member 4| extending substantially from end to end of the car by means of gusset plates 42 and the upper ends of the intermediate posts 3&1 are secured to this member by means of gusset plates 43. At their lower ends the door posts and intermediate posts are secured to the side sills I6 by means of brackets designated respectively in their entirety by the reference numerals 44 and 45. Inasmuch as the specific construction of these brackets does not form a part of the instant invention, except as they constitute elements of the entire combination, no further description of the brackets is believed to be necessary.

Metallic, sheets such as 46 and 41 are secured to the door posts and intermediate posts and along their upper margins to the depending anges 48 of the longitudinally extending load carrying members 4l. These members, as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, are Z-shaped in section and are arranged with their webs 49 horizontal and .the remaining ilanges 56 extending upwardly. The lower margins of the metallic sheets are secured to the side sills I by means of Z-shaped metallic members 5i. The upstanding flanges 52 of these members are secured as by means of rivets to the lower' margins `of the metallic sheets and to the door posts and intermediate posts. The webs 53 of these members extend inwardly and, the deending flanges 514 thereof are fastened asv by means of rivets to the channel shaped side sills. The floor 3| is extended outwardly by the addition of the boards 55 which are supported upon the side sills and upon the webs 53 oi the bottom Z-shaped members 5I.

In the preparation of the single .sheathed house car illustrated in the drawings for conversion to CII a metal sheathed house car, the roof 25 together v with the side plates i9 are lifted from the car as a unit as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The side plates I9 are side ywall members and not roof members and by removing the side plates and the roof as a unit a portion of the side wall structure is utilized to maintain the roof as an integrated structure for re-application to Vthe new side wall units. The wooden sheathing I0, the door aposts, intermediate posts, braces and gusset plates are then removed, leaving the car underframe and car ends. The side wall units hereinabove described are then applied by fastening, as by means of rivets the brackets 4d and 45 and the depending flanges 54 of the bottom Z- shaped members 51| to the underframeor side sills thereof. The side wall units are secured to the existing car ends by means of the metallic members M. The car roof 25 and the side plates I9 are then lifted as a unit and mounted upon the longitudinally extending load carrying members 4l as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. If desired, the outwardly extending horizontal flanges i8 of the side plates may be removed as indicated at 56 prior to the application of the roof and side plate unit. When this unit is so mounted, the webs 20 of the side plates i9 are secured as by means of riveting to the upstanding flanges 50 of the longitudinally extending load carrying members 4I. Gusset members 5l are preferably utilized to secure the door posts and intermediate posts to the overlapping webs 2i! and upstanding flanges 50, as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The construction oi the car may then be completed as desired.

By the instant invention the cost of handling the car roof and side plates is greatly reduced inasmuch as these parts are now treated as a unitary structure. All or a portion of the existing side plates is re-used, thereby making it possible to reduce the thickness of the longitudinally extending load carrying members. This reduction in thickness necessarily effects a reduction in the weight of these members, whereby a reduction in the number of men required to handle these members is secured. The resulting economies and consequent reduction in cost of the conversion to the railroads is believed to be obvious.

It will be observed that by the employment of the bottom Z-shaped members 5l the inside width of the converted car has been increased providing a corresponding increase in the cubical capacity of the car. A further increase in this capacity may also be obtained by increasing the height of the car. This is obtained with the full utilization of the instant invention as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 6 of the drawings. There is disclosed in this figure the handling of the car roof, side plates and upper portions 58 of the car ends as a unit. The increase in height of the car is obtained by the securement of splice pla-tes 59, shown in dot andv clash lines in Fig, 6, to the upper margins of the lower portions 50 of the car ends, also shown in dot and dash lines. When the unit comprising the car roof, side plates and upper portions 58 of the car ends is re-applied, the lowermargins of these upper portions are secured to the upper margins of the splice plates, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and the desired increase in height of the car obtained.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, one manner of handling the car roof and side plates as a unit is illustrated although it is to be understood that any desiredV mode of handling this unit may be employed.

It willbe apparent that numerous changes and modificationsY in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and` existing car roof and side plates, of metallic side walls substituted for the existing side walls andfastened to the car underframe, each of. said side walls comprising spaced' posts, metallic sheathing secured to said posts and a longitudinally extending load carrying member secured to the upper ends of said posts and sheathing, said existing car roof and side plates being removed as a unit from the car under repair and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members and means securing said side plates to said load carrying members,

2. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and existing car roof and side plates, said side plates being Z-shaped in section and arranged so that the web is vertical and the flanges substantially horizontal, of metallic side walls substituted for the existing side .walls and fastened to the car underframe, each of said side walls comprising spaced posts, metallic sheathing secured to said posts and a longitudinally extending load carrying member secured to the upper ends of said posts and sheathing, said load carrying members being Z-shaped in section and disposed so that the Webs are horizontal and the flanges vertical, said existing car roof and side plates being removed as a unit from the car under repair and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members and means securing the Webs of said side plates to the upstanding Vertical flanges of said load carrying members, said side plates and load carrying members constituting the composite side plates of the repaired car.

3. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and existing car roof and side plates, said side plates being Z-shaped in section and arranged so that the web is vertical and the flanges substantially horizontal, of metallic side Walls substituted for the existing side Walls and fastened to the car underframe, each of said side walls comprising spaced posts, metallic sheathing secured to said posts and a longitudinally extending load carrying member secured to the upper ends of said posts and sheathing, said load carrying members being Z-shaped in section and disposed so that the webs are horizontal and the ilanges vertical, said existing car roof and side plates being removed as a unit from the car under repair and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members, the lower horizontal flange of said side plates being removed, and means securing the webs of said side plates to the upstanding vertical flanges of said load carrying members, the remainder of said side plates and said load carrying members forming the side plates of the repaired car.

4. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and existing car roof and side plates, of metallic side walls substituted for the existing side walls and fastened to the car underframe, each of said side Walls comprising a longitudinally extending load carrying member, said existing roof and side plates being removed from the car under repair as a unit and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members and means securing said side plates to said lo ad carrying members.

5. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and existing car roof and side plates, of metallic side walls substituted for the existing side walls and fastened to the car underframe, each of said side walls comprising a longitudinally extending load carrying member, said existing roof and side plates being removed from the car under repair as a unit and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members and means securing said side plates to said load carrying members, said load carrying members being less in thickness than said existing side plates.

6. In a car repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the underframe and existing car roof and side plates, of metallic side Walls substituted for the existing side walls and fastened to the car underframe, each of said side walls comprising a longitudinally extending load carrying member, said side plates being Z- shaped in section and arranged with the webs Vertical and iiange horizontal, said load carrying members being Z-shaped in section and disposed with the webs horizontal and the flanges vertical, said existing car roof and side plates being removed as a unit from the car under repair and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members, the lower horizontal flanges of said side plates being removed and means securing the webs of said side plates to the upstanding vertical flanges of said load carrying members, said'load carrying members being less in thickness than said side plates and forming with the remainder thereof the side plates of the repaired car.

7. In a car` repair construction for railway house cars the combination with the under-frame and existing car roof and side plates, of metallic side Walls substituted for the existing side walls and fastened to the car underirame, each of said side walls comprising a longitudinally extending load carrying member, said side plates being Z- shaped in section and arranged with the webs vertical and flanges horizontal, said load carrying members being Z-shaped in section and disposed with the webs horizontal and the anges vertical, said existing car roof and side plates being removed as a unit from the cai' under repair and mounted as a unit upon said load carrying members, the lower anges of said side plates being removed and means securing the webs of said side plates to the upstanding vertical flanges of said load carrying members, the remainder of said side plates and said load carrying members forming the side plates of the repaired car.

8. In the art of car repair wherein metallic side walls are substituted for the existing side walls of railway house cars, removing the existing car roof, side plates and upper portions of the car ends as a unit, removing the existing side walls fastened to the car underfraine, substituting metallic side walls of greater height than the existing side walls and having longitudinally extending metallic load carrying members, securing metallic splice plates to the lower portions of said car ends, re-applying said car roof, side plates and upper portions of said car ends as a unit, and fastening said side plates to said load carrying members and the lower margins of said upper portions of said car ends to the upper margins of said splice plates.

9. In the art of car repair wherein metallic side Walls are substitutedA for the existing side walls of railway house cars, removing the existing roof and side plates as a unit, removing the existing side walls, fastening to the car underframe sub stitute metallic side walls, each embodying a longitudinally extending metallic load carrying member, reapplying said roof and side plates as a unit to said load carrying members and securing said side plates to said load carrying members.

f ARTHUR J. DOYLE. 

